the showdown that was always meant to be
by Domenic
Summary: Did you seriously swallow every word from the man that kidnapped you days ago? Finale AU. UPDATE: PART 4.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: the showdown that was always meant to be [1/?]**

**Fandom: The Legend of Korra**

**Summary: Finale AU. Did you seriously swallow every word from the man that kidnapped you days ago?**

**A/N: Season 1 finale rewrite GO. And rewritten after a certain scene, because up until certain points in the finale, I had hope. Title references Azula's line from awesome AtLA series finale.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Legend of Korra or Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

"Your family wasn't killed by a firebender." Korra glared at the crowd, triumph rising up in her throat. "His father was Yakone—"

The young Avatar felt bolstered by the crowd's gasps.

"—and his brother is Councilman Tarrlok."

Her eyes narrowed as Amon still showed no real reaction there on the stage. His voice remained level even as it projected to the crowds, "Now who told you such an amusing tale?"

Korra immediately began to answer. "Tarrlok did—"

"And you trusted _**his**_word?" That wasn't Amon, but a woman's voice. Familiar, too. "After what he did to us?"

Bile rising up in her throat, Korra snapped her head around, and found the speaker—the mother on that snowy night, children still at her side. But the woman looked harsher, and the children more wary.

"I—" Korra's mind was shutting down, she had no idea what to say...

"She has a point, Avatar," Amon called to her, grabbing her attention. "And isn't he the bloodbender that had you kidnapped days ago?" The Equalist leader gestured to the crowd. "I can assure you, the story's broken by now. Everyone knows."

"That—he has no reason to lie to me now! Not with him locked up and after you removed his bending!" Korra desperately snapped, revulsion coloring her voice over the last parts of the sentence.

"How nice, you listen to a purged bender. But what of my people? Have you ever really sat down and listened to a nonbender's grievances? Or can you hear only benders, especially those living your pitiful vision of a nightmare-"

"They_ aren't _your people!"

"You're too stubborn to be the Avatar, the supposed peacekeeper of this world," Amon said. "Again, you have no real proof of that."

"If I'm wrong, take off the mask!"

"Make me."

Korra snapped. Fire flared up on in her hands.

"Don't, he's baiting you—"

Mako's warning fell on deaf ears, as Korra launched herself on the wall, running along it with the flames blasting out to balance her. Blood rushed in her ears; he wanted scars for his lie, she'd give him scars...

"Evacuate, now!" Amon shouted the order to the assembled crowds, swiping a hand to one of the exits. Korra had never heard him sound so tense before, or look so completely distracted...

Korra startled a bit, but kept running even when lightning struck the stage. Mako provided back-up after all, had also noticed Amon's apparent distraction.

She felt no surprise as Amon dodged the lightning and rolled over to Mustache Guy. Distracted or not, he was still monstrously skilled.

Launching herself off the wall, Korra blasted out a barrage of fire attacks before landing on the stage. Of course Amon and Mustache Guy dodged those too—but that wasn't what made Korra's stomach lurch uncomfortably. She distantly noticed the zone of that attack—her control had slipped with her growing rage, if the crowds had not started evacuating, some would've been burned...

_Deal with that later_. Korra kept attacking, but Amon and his subordinate were getting closer—his subordinate had just activated his electrified kali sticks—

"Let's get out of here!" Mako shouted, and Korra yelped as he pulled her away. Mako blasted out cover fire, and Korra lost sight of Amon and Mustache Guy as she was yanked into the hallway.

She still heard Amon bark out, "I'll find them, you go make sure the arena's clear of civilians—"

Korra tried to pull away from Mako. "No, we have to—!"

"You can't unmask him in front of no one, the crowd's run off now!"

Before Korra could bring herself to argue more, she heard pounding feet and saw Amon run for them. The sight of him fast approaching finally made Korra lose her nerve and remember her complete and utter fear of the Equalist leader.

She blasted a wall of fire to block him, then another, before fleeing with Mako. They darted into one of the arena's practice gyms, hiding.

###

Korra's heart pounded in her ears as she watched Amon's feet stalk before her eyes, he was too damn close...

And then suddenly those feet were gone and she heard the thunk of something being pierced. More alarmingly, she felt the familiar sensation of bloodbending painfully yank her from her hiding spot.

She was made to kneel down, as was Mako, both sharing in their terror, while Amon...was struggling madly against the jagged chunk of ice that kept him pinned to the wall. Clearly not waterbending it away.

"I really do not understand why the great Katara never trained you to fight off bloodbending," Tarrlok said as he entered the room, hands bent in that horribly familiar gesture, his face as grim as the very first time he had bloodbent Korra into submission. "And you've still done nothing to prepare for it—

though granted, you really haven't had much time, except to run around as if your head was cut off, listen to the first sob story you hear..."

"Your bending's not gone," was the first thing out of Korra's dry mouth. From her position on the ground with Mako, she was firmly in between Tarrlok and the trapped Amon, seeing them both.

And so Korra saw a sign of real human emotion in Amon—guilt and anger in that glare behind the mask.

"Want to answer that, Amon?" Tarrlok's lip curled into a bitter smile. "Tell the Avatar how the great revolutionary leader dedicated to end bending for all time, couldn't even bring himself to remove it from his own brother."

"So you _are_ brothers?" Mako hissed.

Tarrlok shrugged, but his hold never loosened on their bodies. "Adopted. My father had plucked him out of the fire that slaugthered his family. Had me heal him to gain a better understanding of the human body—couldn't do a thing for his face though. And then Yakone had me bloodbend him, so that I could practice on humans better."

Amon stopped his struggle, to stare at the bloodbender. "Yes, Tarrlok—Yakone _made _you do that," Amon said lowly, eyes locking with Tarrlok's, which had narrowed. "Brother, please—"

And Korra felt her head hurt, hearing the crack in Amon's voice, what he was saying, how his eyes burned.

"—your father made you do this. Just because you could bend. It was never you. You _never_ enjoyed it. You always knew it was wrong, I _know_ you did—"

"You always thought _I _was wrong, didn't you, baby brother?"

Amon paused, and Korra's heart pounded as she saw him actually shut his eyes tight, clearly regretting. Then he opened them. "I did once, and _I_ was wrong to believe that. It was only the bending, I should never have blamed you. You do _not_ have to do this, Tarrlok. You've always been better than this."

Korra hissed as Tarrlok gestured, making Mako pass out. Then his arm twisted, and Amon hissed as well, while the ice tightened around him.

Tarrlok looked furious.

"You're still that little naive farm boy, Amon. I _am_ my bending. Just as you are_ nothing _without it." Korra's eyes widened as the ice began to choke Amon, making him gag. "Even you knew that, deep down. Why else would you spare my bending? Even you did not wish to remove my very being."

"Tarrlok," Korra snapped, still struggling madly but not moving even an inch. "What is this? What are you after—?"

The former councilman laughed. "Did you really think Amon was the only one with an endgame?"

If Korra had looked, she would've known Amon wore the same look of horror as she did.

###

"How are the evacuations going?"

"Sir, half of them are out of the arena!"

"And the Avatar? Anyone fin—?"

"Lieutenant!"

"What?" The elder snapped, whirling on the latest Equalist.

The younger nonbender said in a rush, "The Red Monsoons, the Agni Kais, the Rumblers, the Triple Threats, they're all striking at once, _together_—!"

The Lieutenant's eyes widened.

###

"I know you feared a power vacuum after taking Zolt out, Amon, but still thought it was worth it to topple the crime lord—worth it for me, too." Tarrlok's gaze darted from Amon's furious glare to Korra's equally angry eyes. "Now, I did tell you, Avatar, that I preferred to take the city from within the system—but I'm not so great a fool as to not have any involvement with the city's underbelly. And Zolt's disgrace was the perfect opportunity to begin consolidating my hold on all the gangs. What with you and Amon fighting, not to mention my task force and the metalbending police added to that squabble, it was simple enough to deal with the gangs and go relatively unnoticed. Unite them, have them lie low, bide their time until the opportune moment."

"Admittedly that moment was just a vague promise, but it became more clear once the council was no longer an option, though even that was delayed. But after you and your boy toy so kindly removed the guards for me back at the temple, it was easy enough to avoid the next scheduled chiblocking session and escape, make contact with my people, tell them rescue was no longer necessary. Instead they were to attack right about..._now_."

###

The Lieutenant barked out orders, sending teams to deal with the bender gangs, and to protect the rally evacuees.

Inwardly he cursed. Not only were the gangs notoriously competitive with each other, the Equalists had thought the city's bending underbelly had been sufficiently intimidated. Surveillance suggested a number of them fleeing the city, their decreased activity, gang members being rounded up and their bending removed. And admittedly increased warfare with the metalbending police and the Avatar had distracted them. Clearly the gangs had not only put aside their differences and united, but also lured them into a false sense of security and confidence...

One of the walls burst out, and the Lieutenant joined the first defense team against the onslaught of fire, earth and water.

###

"So what? You're gonna hijack Amon's scheme and take over the city?" Korra snarled, and Tarrlok laughed.

"My brother the would-be conqueror? How rid—"

And then Mako surged up, lighting in his hand, and Korra felt hope.

Tarrlok only smirked, twisting his arm so that Mako twisted, so that he faced Korra, but his lightning was still going—

Korra screamed as Mako's lightning hit her, barely able to hear Mako's own horrified shout.

She slammed to the ground, shaking from the shock. Korra gritted her teeth, curled into herself against the pain. Okay, if Tarrlok just left her here, didn't bloodbend her again, she would have a chance, she just had to shake this off—

Korra bit her lip as her body trembled. She cursed when she felt herself bloodbent again.

She managed to open her eyes. From her position on the floor, she saw Mako frozen in place and glaring again, Tarrlok bloodbending him once more, and behind Tarrlok was—

Mustache Guy.

He rushed Tarrlok, electrified kali sticks raised.

Korra inwardly cursed as Tarrlok whirled around, throwing Mako toward the Mustache Guy. At least before Mako slammed into Amon's Equalist commander, the older man flicked something on one of his kali sticks and threw it toward Tarrlok. Who sidestepped.

The bloodbender smirked. "Missed."

_Not really_, Korra thought, eyes wide, as the kali stick had sharp prongs split out, electricity crackling through all the new points, and the transformed and apparently overcharged kali stick slammed into Amon's ice cage, cracking it. That was enough. Amon burst out of the cracked ice, breaking the rest and charging Tarrlok.

Amon struck for the bender's pressure points, but Tarrlok was _fast_—Korra was certain Amon had meant to paralyze his body along with blocking his chi, but Tarrlok had moved at just the right moment. Amon still struck, Tarrlok hissed and Korra was no longer bloodbent. But Tarrlok still moved. He punched at Amon, who dodged. Korra struggled to get up; Mako's misdirected lightning attack had really done a number on her.

She saw Tarrlok shove his hand into an overlarge pocket, then twist away from Amon's attack. Korra lunged, too late. When Tarrlok's hand slipped out of his pocket, an electrified glove adorned it, and he slammed the now armed hand straight for Amon's chest. Korra's eyes widened at the first really pained shout she'd heard from Amon. Her eyes squeezed shut when Amon was blasted into her, both crashing to the floor, and Korra grunting at some of the electrical shock jumping to her too.

"You really had such wonderful toys made, brother," Korra heard Tarrlok murmur as she desperately tried to disentangle herself from an Amon struggling to get back up on his feet.

Then Tarrlok shocked them again, and she knew nothing more.

_tbc_

**A/N: So I added another component to Lieutenant's kali sticks, but I thought it would be interesting, make some sense, and I figured that was okay since canon pretty much had Korra suddenly airbend. I wanted lying Tarrlok because originally I thought he was lying. That story sounded too melodramatic and stilted and kinda too convenient. And flashback!Noatak really didn't look a thing like the Amon we'd seen all season! Just look at the skin color! And then Amon took off the mask and the scars and showed the skin color that clearly wasn't Noatak's. So for a wild moment I really thought canon would do something awesome and show that Tarrlok lied and messed with Korra's head, and they cleverly told the flashback in a poor way to hint it was a lie. But no, apparently he was dead serious, and that flashback was really just poorly executed. And Amon/Noatak apparently had color-changing skin? I'm sorry, I still don't really accept Noatak and Amon as the same person. I really enjoyed bringing that nonbender mother from ep. 8 back. Especially since she never appeared in season 1 again. In fact, her scene was never really followed up on again within season 1, which is a shame. I just took out the captured airbenders because it messed up too many characters and didn't really make any sense IMHO. There goes Lin's supposed "sacrifice" and making Amon and the Equalist just "bad guys" instead of taking an opportunity for any sort of depth with them. Tarrlok and the shock glove is an echo of canon's ep. 9 and the its finale. Originally this was going to be a one-shot, but I'm splitting it up into more than one part. Next time is Asami and her dad!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: the showdown that was always meant to be [2/?]**

**Fandom: The Legend of Korra**

**Summary: Finale AU. Did you seriously swallow every word from the man that kidnapped you days ago?**

**A/N: Season 1 finale rewrite GO. And rewritten after a certain scene, because up until certain points in the finale, I had hope. ****Preview of this first shown here at **** post/25771751420. ****This is in continuity with my fic "Misbegotten Sons" at s/8190741/1/misbegotten_sons. In case anyone wonders, this is **_**not**_** in continuity with "all a dream" at **** s/8292114/1/all_a_dream****.  
**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Legend of Korra or Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

"I'm doing this for her, I'm doing this to protect you!"

"By locking me up in a cell?"

"I had never planned this—"

"How were you going to tell me about the Equalists, Dad? Over a nice dinner? Invite Amon over for tea?"

Bolin and General Iroh shared an awkward glance, both feeling distinctly stuck in the middle between Asami and Hiroshi Sato.

The argument between father and daughter immediately stopped at the sound of an explosion; fire crackling, lightning hissing, the earth shaking, the violent rush of water.

An Equalist ran in. She shouted, "Hiroshi, it's the Triads, the Agni Kais—all the bender gangs are attacking!"

Hiroshi's order was immediate. "Get the tanks, get those planes up in the air, prepare for evacuation, send a strike force to—"

"Can we safely hold this place, Sir?"

"We cannot." Hiroshi immediately pulled out the key. "Asami, you must go—we'll hold them off—I'm afraid there's not enough of us here to have a team escort you out—"

Asami stared at her father, brow furrowing, instinctively feeling concern wash over her. "What? But Dad—"

Hiroshi undid her bonds, then gave her the keys. "Release your...allies." He turned a harsh look to Bolin and General Iroh. "I trust you'll at least look out for your comrade?"

Bolin straightened his back. "Asami will be fine with us, Sir!"

"Agreed," Iroh said with a nod.

The young woman scowled. Her body tensed for a fight. "I'm not leaving you, Dad." Her voice lowered. "Not this time."

Hiroshi snapped, "This is no time for—!"

The earth cracked. Bolin began to bend, stopping the crack from spreading further. Iroh defended Equalists with cover fire while they dashed forward to chiblock the gang benders.

Asami stayed back with another Equalist to guard her father. He could pilot a mech tank, he had his shock gloves, but Asami was not confident in her father's martial skill...

"Here!" Hiroshi shouted, and Asami turned to him. He threw her a shock glove, which she caught and quickly slipped on her hand. It was a welcome weight.

"We need to get out of the building, it's going to fall on top of us eventually!" Asami's fellow Equalist guard shouted as she threw out a bola, ensnaring a waterbender about to stab Bolin and Iroh with ice.

They now fought to escape...

"Woah, hold up—Bolin, is that you?"

Bolin had thrown up a defensive wall of earth while a downed Equalist was tended to by another Equalist and Iroh. On the other side were the sounds of a reluctant and tense ceasefire. Asami and her father shared a look; this seemed like a good moment to attack, but they really did need a moment to recover.

"Shinta?" Bolin said, surprised. Slowly the earth wall made a window, and the tension grew while Bolin and a green-eyed man—presumably Shinta—faced each other.

"Man, that is you! What the hell are you doing with the Equalists?"

"Uh, getting captured then teaming up since you guys were apparently trying to kill us?" Bolin answered in a rush, arching a brow at Shinta.

"Oh, big misunderstanding, Bo—but looks like we saved you before they got your bending!"

Asami made sure to step in between Bolin and her father and the other Equalists. Iroh relucantly left the wounded Equalist to his comrade, joining Asami.

"Bolin, you know this guy?" Asami said, looking to the ex-probender.

The boy rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh yeah, he was one of the Triad guys Mako and I worked with—"

"_What_?" Bolin jerked, apprehensive; he'd never seen or heard Asami act this mad before.

"D-didn't Mako tell you how we did some things for the Triads while we were on the streets—?"

"He forgot to mention that too," she answered in a low voice. It grew louder. "You guys actually worked with these monsters?"

Shinta held up his hands. "Woah there, sweetheart, we aren't—"

Asami spat at him. "Agni Kais butchered my mother, do _not _tell me what you are!"

Bolin now put up his own defensive hands. "But Asami, Mako and I never—it was just little things—"

"Are you going to do a 'little thing' for them now and join them? Your old buddy Shinta there clearly wants you to!" Asami snarled at him, eyes blazing, and Bolin recoiled.

Before this could continue, the walls burst out on either side—a mech tank through one side, the polarbeardog through the other.

"Naga!" Bolin exclaimed with a relieved grin on his face.

"Sir, go!" The mech tank shouted to Hiroshi. In the confusion of battle further muddled with the addition of Naga and the mech tank, the allies cleared the building.

Immediately Asami coughed against the smoke. She stared at the twisted plane wrecks. Was that a hand...?

"_Gein_!"

One of the Equalists shouted, trying to run for the plane wrecks. Another Equalist held him back, saying, "We have to go—"

"But Gein—"

"We have to go!"

Bile rose up in Asami's throat as that Equalist gave a choked curse and followed them away from the blazing ruin and toward the wrecked fence. But Asami kept looking over her shoulder, and she realized not all the planes were destroyed. A number of them were surrounded by earthbenders, captured. Her eyes narrowed; surely the gangs would be very curious about these flying machines...

A Satomobile was waiting for them, another Equalist at the wheel. "Get in."

The limping Equalist glanced at their strange group, drifting past his comrades and Hiroshi and Asami, lingering on Bolin and Iroh. "Not all of us can fit—"

The driver nodded to other approaching Satomobiles. Then that Equalist gave a surprised curse as Naga bounded toward them.

"We've got Naga," Bolin said as he and Iroh piled onto the saddle. Bolin offered Asami a hand. She ignored him, piling into the Satomobile.

"Ah, good," Hiroshi breathed, looking behind. Asami and the others followed his gaze, to where the mech tank that helped them and other ones were following them out. Some stayed behind, fighting, making sure they escaped...

"Hiroshi, we got a message. More bad news," said the Equalist driver, and everyone listened to her, even Bolin and Iroh craned their necks from Naga's saddle, the polarbeardog keeping up with the cars. "This apparent alliance between the bending gangs is ambushing the city too. Hate to say it, but they've probably taken the whole city by now."

She made a sharp turn, and Bolin yelped as Naga twisted out of the way. "Sorry," the driver said, without sounding very apologetic.

"The arena?" Hiroshi asked. "Amon and the Lieutenant's rally—"

"Attacking the city includes the arena," the driver humorlessly pointed out. "At first it was interrupted by the Avatar, we're still not sure if she was working with the gangs—"

"She wouldn't!" Bolin snapped.

"_You_ did." Asami's glare on Bolin was immediate, her voice acidic.

Bolin again flinched. "That's diff—"

"The gangs attacked right after the Avatar's interruption?" Hiroshi cut in, and Asami and Bolin quieted down, listening again.

"Not exactly right after." The driver sighed. "The Avatar just burst in with this sheepcock-and-sharkbull story about Amon being a bloodebender and Tarrlok's brother and Yakone's son. And then when no one was buying it, she attacked Amon. It was then he ordered the crowd to evacuate." The frown became audible in the driver's voice. "Good thing, too. Evacuation might've been too late if it hadn't started then, everyone could've been caught—"

"What are you talking about?" Iroh asked, alarmed.

The driver gave a deeper sigh. "A number of civilians from the arena were captured by the bender gangs, but not everyone. Most of the Equalists there were captured. The message was pretty certain that included the Lieutenant and Amon."

Hiroshi's eyes narrowed, and Bolin and Asami shared a look. The feared Equalist leader, actually captured?

"What do they want with civilians?" Another Equalist asked, voice terse. With a jolt, Asami realized it was the one that had been screaming for someone dear, Gein.. .

The driver gave a frustrated shrug. "No one's sure yet, we just know they're being rounded up." Her hands clenched around the wheel. "And we know Tarrlok's leading them."

Hiroshi's eyes widened. "He escaped?"

"His damned gang benders must've busted him out." Her voice lowered. "We still haven't heard from our people on Air Temple Island."

"The gang benders are listening to Tarrlok even without his bending?" Bolin asked.

Asami snapped at him again, "Bending didn't make him a leader!"

Bolin looked alarmed again. "No, I didn't mean—"

"Actually," Hiroshi said, looking uncomfortable. "Amon didn't remove his bending. He had the councilman put under a strict chiblocking schedule—"

"That was obviously broken, and now we are so screwed," the driver said.

There was an awkward silence, before Bolin asked, "_Why_ didn't Amon take his bending?"

Hiroshi began. "Well—"

"No clue," the driver said with another shrug.

"Tae!" Hiroshi yelped, glancing at the driver.

"Hiroshi, even the whole 'ransom' explanation was kinda vague, everyone's been gossiping about it, we've all been worried, even the Lieutenant was worried...now look what's happened!" The driver—

Tae shook her head. "I'm sorry, but the boss picked a bad time to show mercy or play the ransom game or whatever."

Hiroshi sighed. "Tarrlok didn't unite the bender gangs overnight. He had to have been working with them for a while now, before we captured him. Whether Amon had took his bending or not, we would still be facing a crisis like this."

"Yeah yeah, 'to err is human.' Now, maybe Tarrlok _is_ Amon's brother, like adoption or something," Tae muttered. There was a very flat silence. "Kidding! Just kidding! Sorry for trying to lighten the mood..."

"Anyway," Iroh began. "Are we working together?" Everyone glanced to him, behind Bolin on Naga's saddle. "Republic City cannot fall to anyone."

Hiroshi's face was cold, but he nodded. "For now, General, we are allies."

Asami couldn't look at any one of them. She just kept her eyes on the road, and wished she were the one at the wheel.

_tbc_

**A/N: My other issue with the finale**—**I really did not agree with Hiroshi's direction. IMO it didn't fit the rest of his characterization in the rest of the previous season. And I just didn't like the direction**—**I did not want another Ozai willing to off his kids. I thought it was more interesting if Hiroshi still loved his daughter. So I want things to be more complicated between Hiroshi and Asami. And though it was never brought up, I think Asami would have issues with bender gangs given what happened with her mother. I liked adding more Equalist OCs and humanizing them, as Fire Nation soldiers were humanized in AtLA.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Legend of Korra season finale AU [3/?]**

**Title: the showdown that was always meant to be [3/?]**

**Fandom: The Legend of Korra**

**Summary: Finale AU. Did you seriously swallow every word from the man that kidnapped you days ago?**

**A/N: Season 1 finale rewrite GO. And rewritten after a certain scene, because up until certain points in the finale, I had hope.**

**Preview of this first shown here at my fannishcodex tumblr.**

**This is in continuity with my fic "Misbegotten Sons"****. In case anyone wonders, this is not exactly in continuity with "all a dream", except for some parts.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Legend of Korra or Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

The Lieutenant was the first to regain consciousness. He found himself chained in a cell, with mask and goggles still on.

He could see Amon through the bars, in the cell in front of him. He was similarly chained.

And unmasked.

The Lieutenant should have expected such cruelty from Tarrlok, but still he cursed the bloodbender all the same. To the Lieutenant, the scars were just a part of Amon, but he knew the younger man was still self conscious about them. Even with the Lieutenant, even though he had already seen them….

"Amon," Lieutenant called to the younger man. "Amon." He searched his leader's body for injury. So far he found nothing but his singed chest.

The older man grimaced as his own body reminded him of his own ahces and pains.

"Amon, wake up!"

Finally his leader twitched, his eyes struggling to open. He sluggishly moved his head around, then straightened it somewhat upright, blinkingly catowlishly at the Liuetenant.

The older man was relieved. Amon was conscious; a good sign of his body's well being.

"Lieu, are you all right?"

"Fine. You?"

"I'm good." Though for a moment he looked like he wanted to duck his head out of sight. Instead he immediately began to test his bonds, scan the cell. Knowing he was physicall well, the Lieutenant did the same. Their search brought up nothing but frustration. Their chains strong and bound in such a way as to be extremely restrictive, they could barely move in any direction.

The two stopped, swallowing in the full extent of their situation. The younger man slumped down, eyes downcast. "…I'm so sorry, Lieu." Amon's voice was very small.

The Lieutenant's jaw clenched. He finally snapped. "I damned well _warned_ you!"

His leader squeezed his eyes shut. "I know." Amon's voice was still small. The Lieutenant grew angrier.

"It's a little too late for an apology! I don't want your damn apology, I _wanted _you to act, you had him and you didn't—you couldn't—what were you thinking? _Were_ you thinking?"

"…Not of you, or anyone else. I only thought of Tarrlok then," Amon admitted in a strained voice.

"Why _**him**_?" The Liuetenant snarled. "Just why—spirits, you…you foolish, foolish boy."

The older man's eyes burned. _Not as foolish as me._ "I never should've let you lead—" _You truly were too young. _His fire was fading, just disappointment pouring out now. The Lieutenant knew he was rambling. "You just—you couldn't let go, could you?"

The anger returned. "How could you care more for Tarrlok than _**us**_?!" If the Lieutenant could, he would have lunged for the younger man, shake him. It did not help that Amon was taking it all, refusing to defend himself—!

"Hiroshi, the Equalists, _me_—we have only ever supported you, while Tarrlok abused you—"

Amon shut his eyes. The Liuetenant's voice grew louder, more insistent.

"—he _did_! Whether his father forced him to or not, he still bloodbent you! Even after Yakone was out of the picture, he still did! You do remember that, don't you?" Amon opened his eyes, then looked away. The Lieutenant's voice only grew louder. "_Don't you_?!"

"Yes," Amon choked the word out, meeting his eyes again.

"And yet you believed in him, you defended him, you risked all our lives for that horrible excuse for a brother…and I want to know _why_?!"

"What do you want to hear?" Amon's voice was a low, exhausted scrape. "Do you want to hear how even when he bloodbent my throat to stop me from screaming from all the nightmares—only so that he could finally sleep—he was still kinder than Yakone? How I needed someone, _anyone_, and for years and years he was all I had?" His voice grew lower, more bitter. "How Yakone locked me up in that box you found the Avatar in, and the only one who _ever _came for me was Tarrlok? How he took me away from that same box _he_ was holed up in, years before I was born, because it was oh so important to Yakone he learned bloodbending the way the legendary Hama did? How Tarrlok would tease me like my brothers had, tell me stories like my sisters had, and it was almost like they were still alive? Do you want to hear that I can't even remember what they look like now, them or my parents, and when I think 'brother' or even 'father,' Tarrlok's is the only face I see?"

Amon spat on the floor. "How none of that matters now because I _did _gamble with everyone's lives and thoroughly _failed_?"

"I want to know how you could gamble like this again, how you could place your trust in Tarrlok again, when that went so well the last time!" The Lieuteant's jaw clenched at Amon limp in his restraints, quiet again. "I want to know why you aren't fighting back for real, Amon; are you just going to take this, swallow every single thing I say–?!"

"I have no excuse," the younger man rasped out. "I was wrong, you are in the right–"

"So you admit to being a _traitor_?!" Amon didn't slump down further or cast his eyes down lower, but actually flinched. "Because you are, Amon–you are a_** traitor **_after all of this."

The Lieutenant's heart pounded furiously in his ears. It was hard to hold his rage or anything back now.

Amon stared at him, a wretched broken look twisting his mutilated face–which was suddenly illuminated by electricity, warping his face with pain.

The Lieutenant pulled as hard as he could against his restraints, stretched as far as he could for his leader, his friend– "_**No**_!"

The lightningbending stopped and Amon slumped completely down, hair covering his face, unconscious again.

"'No?' I thought you'd be applauding, given how you were tearing into him seconds ago," Tarrlok murmured as he stepped past the female firebender and stood before Amon's cell, though his eyes remained on the Lieutenant.

"I didn't peg you as being that sadistic with someone you still claim as your brother," the Lieutenant said in a low murderous voice.

Tarrlok's eyes darkened with an equally murderous shadow. "Things would've gone _well_ the last time if Amon had just left you here to rot." Tarrlok moved to the Lieutenant's cell. He gestured over his shoulder, and the firebender flattened herself against the wall as two larger men entered and opened Amon's cell. "But no, he just had to go and save you–_you_ forced my hand–"

"Yakone, me–it's never_ you _that decides to bloodbend, is it, Tarrlok?"

Tarrlok gestured again–and the Lieutenant began to gag.

Tarrlok gave a thin humorless smile, his eyes flat. Then his smile vanished, turning into an equally flat frown. "It was for Amon's own good. I needed to bring him home–by bloodbending, if necessary." Tarrlok's wrist twisted, and so did the Lieutenant's neck, a new pain blossoming. "The first time was harsh, I'll admit I lost my temper with him–but afterward was gentler. Amon knew it was gentler. He knew damn well how far I could go with that forbidden art."

As the Lieutenant tried to come to grips with the horrible reality that his last words to Amon would be ones full of accusation and unrestrained anger, Tarrlok released his bloodbending grip.

"But, that's ancient history," Tarrlok said, thinly smiling as the Lieutenant gulped in air.

The Lieutenant jerked up as the firebender left and the large guards carried a bound Amon out, Tarrlok following them.

"What are you doing with him?!"

"He is no longer your concern," Tarrlok said without a glance back, and closed the cell block door.

The Lieutenant struggled again, frantically this time. He shouted for Tarrlok. Then slumped back down, lowly cursing himself out. He couldn't hold back his anger before when it really damn well counted; there was no point in trying to hold back his tears now, and even those still ran hot with a helpless fury.

_tbc_

**A/N: Sorry if not everything's super clear, but there's a lot of references/hints to these three's history that's well known to them, so there isn't really a reason for them to go into a super in-depth explanation of it. It'll be explained eventually though. Quite a few arguments between comrades lately, Bolin and Asami, now Amon and the Lt….. Amon and Tarrlok sorta parallel Zuko and Ozai, with Lt. sorta being fandom snapping and wondering 'WTF how can you still care about this guy?!' But I think even research indicates that this can essentially happen: the abused will defend their abusive family members. I don't think it can happen with everyone**

**–people vary–but with some. Research such as this here at "Adult Survivors Continuing Relationships with Abusive Family" by Louise at Pandora's Project-****under the 'Damaged Self' section quoting Judith Herman (Amon suffered physical and emotional/mental abuse). I hoped to make it a natural snapping point for Lt., and still have Amon in a sympathetic light (more sympathetic than canon). The set-up is there: a very young Amon loses his family, the closest thing he gets right after that to fill that hole is really Tarrlok, all that trauma causes Amon to pretty much cling to Tarrlok as family and to believe he's "good." It ends up being a very sad twist of Katara and Sokka, even directly referencing Sokka's line about thinking more of Katara when trying to remember his mother, since I think under that set-up and combine with the age difference, Amon would see Tarrlok as a mix of brother and father deep down. And when trying to make Lt. naturally snap, I meant to make him as sympathetic, because this is almost the last straw for him combined with his history with Amon and Tarrlok, it's as reasonable for him to lose it for a while, as horribly reasonable for Amon to still feel conflicted over Tarrlok. Also, Lt. is supposed to dig up that feeling I think a lot of people have felt, saying things in the heat of the moment you'll regret later…. And Lt. is still reflecting and twisting canon with gaining more time to chew Amon out (though this Amon might deserve more slack) and an altered reason for his tears.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: the showdown that was always meant to be [4/?]**

**Fandom: The Legend of Korra**

**Summary: Finale AU. Did you seriously swallow every word from the man that kidnapped you days ago?**

**A/N: Season 1 finale rewrite GO. And rewritten after a certain scene, because up until certain points in the finale, I had hope.**

**This is in continuity with my fic "Misbegotten Sons." ****In case anyone wonders, this is not really in continuity with "all a dream." **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Legend of Korra or Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

Lin was listening at the door. She narrowed her eyes at the sounds of crackling ice and fire mingling with shouts. Then silence. Followed by low urgent words she couldn't decipher, though she could recognize an argument when she heard one.

Her body tensed at the familiar crackle of electricity.

"Back away from the door," a young woman curtly ordered.

Lin scowled. "If you're so concerned, keep the door closed. I can hear you just fine from here."

"She's got a point-"

"Shut it!" Hissed the first speaker to a young-sounding adolescent. The first speaker's voice regained its curt authority. "Very well. Chief Bei Fong, you're aware of Air Temple Island passing to another?"

"From you to Tarrlok and the gangs-yes, the former councilman visited me with a predictable offer."

"Since you're still here, I trust you refused."

"Tarrlok knew I would. He just wanted to gloat. And now you come to me with your tails between your legs?"

"As if you could do anything on your own. Sure, you'd be useful to us, but we don't particularly _need_ you as much as you need us right now. We're not the ones locked in a cell, after all."

"So this is mercy, is it?"

"Just business."

"You sound like Hiroshi."

"He's a worthy man to emulate in some ways." Then the first speaker snarled. "Now just to get everything out in the open, because if we do this, we should try to get along, even if it's temporary: you don't like us, we don't like you; you blame us for this, we blame you for this; but right now neither of us can just let Tarrlok and the gangs take over Republic City, now can we?"

"That we can't," Lin said, and the Equalists opened her door. They then went to free the rest of her officers, the Air Acolytes that had remained to fight, and the White Lotus guards as they went about retaking the island, or escaping it. Whichever one was most doable.

###

_"Uncle Bumi_!"

"Ah, my darling nieces and nephew-"

"Nephews! We have a baby brother now!"

"You do?" Bumi delightedly howled, looking over to Tenzin talk quietly to Pema on their bison, while his older nieces and nephew clung to him. Above them flew other bison with their Air Acolyte passengers.

Then Tenzin stepped down. "Brother—"

"You're hitching a ride with us to Republic City, Pema and the kids and the new baby are going on ahead without you, along with the acolytes."

"Some of the acolytes will stay with them as well, but others wish to join us in returning to Republic City, and, well, just to be safe, could you—?"

"—get you an escort for them on the bison and following them below in the water?"

"If you please."

Bumi reassuredly slapped his baby brother's shoulder. "Of course, Ten-Ten."

The older man's grin widened as Tenzin's brow twitched. Then Bumi barked out the orders to his men, and the escorts were mobilized.

Bumi hugged Jinora, Ikki and Meelo good-bye, gave another hug to his sister-in-law and briefly cooed over his new nephew before also wishing him safe travels. He stood back as Tenzin said his own farewell, hugging his children tight, ondly holding Rohan for a moment, deeply kissing Pema.

As Tenzin watched his family fly away with their escort and the acolytes, and their other escort swim out beneath them in their smaller ship, Bumi patted his back.

"We'll throw a proper welcome party for Rohan when this is all over."

Tenzin briefly favored his older brother with a small, grateful smile.

**A/N: And here Tenzin and Bumi are a better functioning brother relationship paralleling the sheer traumatic one between Amon and Tarrlok currently. Bolin and Mako may be in between these two, but they haven't shown up together yet. Kinda of a hope spot and respite here... Ohman, the Air Acolytes bug me, because I'm not sure what happened to them in canon. Did they flee with Tenzin and his family? Did they stay behind to try to fight off the Equalists? Eh, I'm gonna say some of them stayed behind to fight, while others fled, though they were separated from Tenzin's family's main escape route. And I was tickled by the idea of Tenzin having the equivalent to a 'Zu-Zu' nickname at the hands of his sibling(s).**


End file.
